Net exports of readymade garment items stood at $5.64 billion in the January-March or third quarter of the current financial year 2025-26, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
The net exports of the RMG items were worth $6.1 billion during the third quarter of FY25, according to the BB publication titled ‘Quarterly Review on RMG: January-March of FY26’.
During the January-March period of FY26, the gross export earnings of the RMG sector, the highest-earning sector, were $9.2 billion, compared with $10.35 billion in Q3 of FY26.
The import value of raw materials (raw cotton, synthetic or viscose fibre, synthetic or mixed yarn, cotton yarn, textile fabrics and accessories for garments) stood at $3.55 billion in January-March of FY26.
According to the Bangladesh Bank data, the import value of raw materials accounted for 38.65 per cent of total RMG export earnings, meaning the value addition in the RMG exports stood at 61.35 per cent.
Although the value addition witnessed a slight increase by 2.45 percentage point from 58.90 in the third quarter of FY25, the net export earnings from the sector witnessed a negative growth of 7.43 per cent from $6.1 billion.
Net earnings from the preceding quarter or October-December period of FY26 also declined by 9.87 per cent to $6.26 billion, according to BB data.
In the reporting quarter of FY26, the sector’s gross earnings also declined 5.65 per cent from the preceding quarter of the same financial year, to $9.2 billion, down from $9.75 billion in the October-December quarter of FY26.
Moreover, this figure represented an 11.13 per cent decrease from the same period in the previous FY25, when it was $10.35 billion.
The BB said that this slowdown in export earnings was primarily driven by weaker consumer demand in major export destinations, particularly the US and Europe, amid persistent global economic uncertainties and inflationary pressures.
Additionally, increased competition from other garment-exporting countries, higher production and logistics costs, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical tensions that affect global trade may have further contributed to weaker export performance.
‘However, the near-term outlook for the RMG industry of Bangladesh remains moderately positive, supported by the anticipated recovery in global apparel demand, the country’s competitive position in the international market and continued improvements in sustainability and compliance standards,’ said the report.
During the third quarter of FY25, the RMG export made a significant contribution of 8.52 per cent to the country’s GDP.
The Bangladesh Bank data also said that the main destinations of Bangladesh’s RMG exports were the United States, Germany, the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, and Belgium during Q3 of FY26, from where Bangladesh earned about 90 per cent of its total earnings from the RMG exports.
According to the quarterly report, the government and the Bangladesh Bank have taken several measures to facilitate production and exports in the RMG sector, including pre-shipment credit, funds for green transformation, export facilitation, and export development.
The BB said that the sector faced challenges arising from global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, rising production costs and intensifying competition from other garment-exporting countries.
Going forward, export diversification, value-added production and enhanced productivity would be crucial for sustaining growth and strengthening the resilience of the RMG industry, the central bank suggested.
